Introducing this year’s Robert Lord Writers Cottage Young Writer in Residence, Josiah Morgan!

By NZ Young Writers Festival | Posted: Thursday Sep 24, 2026

Josiah (Kāi Tahu / Ngāti Maniapoto) is a poet, actor, drama teacher, performance artist, facilitator, reviewer, editor and writer from Ōtautahi Christchurch.

In 2026, he was the Visiting Writer at Washington State University’s creative writing program. He is the author of i’m still growing (Dead Bird Books, 2024), and his novella Road: A Postlapsarian Comedy won the Macmillan Brown Writers Prize in 2021. His work has featured in The Spinoff, Landfall, Out Here and numerous other journals, blogs and magazines. His chapbook Black Window holds the featured poet slot in Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2026. (Head to https://youngwritersfest.nz/meet-the-2026-writers/ for some links to his work!)

Josiah will spend two weeks at the cottage developing a writing project, as well as contributing to the special wānaka at Puketeraki Marae that’s upcoming for our 2026 cohort of Young Writers and the NZ Young Writers Fest festival weekend from the 2-4 October.

Check out the full festival programme of workshops and events at https://youngwritersfest.nz/ and don’t forget to book your free tickets to attend!